By: Ellen Leibsly M.S. CCC-SLP

What is joint attention?

Joint attention is when more than one individual focuses on the same situation/object/person simultaneously with the awareness that the other individual is also attending to it. This common focus, or shared attention, is the basis of communicative behaviors and typically develops within the first 12 months of a child’s life. Additionally, joint attention is distinct because the purpose is to engage with others. As such, a parent should notice growing attempts by their child to engage with adults or peers around them. Examples of this could be a child looking at a toy, then at their parent, then back at the toy to ensure everyone is paying attention to the same thing. Other examples are gesturing to an object they want someone else to look at, vocalizing to gain someone’s attention and bring it to the target item/event, or following someone’s gaze to see what they are attending to.

Why is joint attention important?

Joint attention is the basis for learning and social behavior from childhood to adulthood; from rolling a ball back and forth to watching a presentation. It is required to gain new information and create a basis for social experiences.

How can I encourage joint attention?

When working with young children who are developing joint attention, there are some things we can do to encourage and support this skill.

  1. Follow your child’s lead! Talk about and engage with what your child is interested in. Respond to their actions, gestures, and vocalizations.
  2. Try to make eye contact and sit face-to-face when interacting. Put items of interest at face level when trying to engage them and get down to their level. Use a heightened affect (how you portray emotions) on your face and in your voice. Tips for fostering eye contact include gently moving their hands towards your face or saying, “look!” followed by gently tapping their face, then tapping your face. Give your child time to respond if they do not look at you immediately. When they do look at you, you can reinforce the behavior with tickles, patting on the back or belly, or another form of preferred interaction.
  3. Cause-and-effect games are great foundations for joint attention. These can be set up such that your child sees a fun outcome in response to directly interacting with you. These can include “ready, set, go” games, where your child looks at you before you say “go” or looks at you and then verbally says “go.” Book reading and music are also great activities that can be modified to have a similar effect. It is essential to check in with them and ensure you are paying attention to the same activity together.
  4. The next step is encouraging your child to look at what you are looking at. This can include pointing and saying “look!” then gently helping them turn their head toward the toy/person/situation you want them to attend to, then rewarding your child for following your point and gaze.
  5. Do something new! If there is one way you and your child typically play with a toy, try to change one part of the play to make it silly and novel.